The broader meaning of Mirotic's interest in the Jazz

[Rubashov]

Excellent. Exactly as I expected.

Isn't the next line "Good! Your hate has made you powerful. Now, fulfill your destiny and take your father's place at my side!"?

 

[infection]

However trading a 1st for him doesn't take advantage of anything.

I disagree.

 

[infection]

 

[Stoked]

I agree, DL has been fantastic for this franchise from the league wide perception of them. That alone is enough to make me support his tenure as GM. He has done amazing work to change the culture and perception of the Jazz league wide. He has laid a lot of ground work that makes the pull of playing with Gobert and Mitchell that much more appealing.

 

[fishonjazz]

It's encouraging Mirotc wants to play for us. However trading a 1st for him doesn't take advantage of anything. The real test is free agency. Does anyone better than a washed up Joe Jonhson or Trevor Booker want to come here?

Thats a good point..... i still think that the idea that utah is becoming a bit more desirable is a valid one.

 

[Thee Idiotic Minivan K]

What's huge was Gobert choosing to sign an extension rather then hitting the open market, but as I'm typing this Hayward and Hill come to mind so there's that

 

[Kyoto]

It's nice to dream, but as Jiminy Cricket said, "When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are, when you wish upon a 'star,' your dreams come true."

View attachment 5520

The heat fans behind the bench give me the lolz

Nice story.

Sent from my SM-N915V using JazzFanz mobile app

 

[Engorged On Unborn Gore]

Isn't the next line "Good! Your hate has made you powerful. Now, fulfill your destiny and take your father's place at my side!"?

It's a nice thought, but really it's like:

 

[Keefe]

Griffin, lulz. Great contract, there.

 

[Stoked]

It's encouraging Mirotc wants to play for us. However trading a 1st for him doesn't take advantage of anything. The real test is free agency. Does anyone better than a washed up Joe Jonhson or Trevor Booker want to come here?

Jazz went and got a GM that was dedicated to improving the Jazz's appeal. He went and got a coach with a reputation for player development in Snyder. DL and Snyder turned around and fleshed out the coaching staff and FO with that goal in mind. Then they set about building a rep for treating players right and improving their game. Those players started talking to other players and you start to see a shift in perception. The final piece though is the jazz now having Gobert and Mitchell as marquee players to attract a third star.

I think that by the end of 2019 Jazz will have a big 3. Either this off season or next.

 

[Engorged On Unborn Gore]

I think that by the end of 2019 Jazz will have a big 3. Either this off season or next.

We still have a ways to go, and we have to get the contract signed. But DL has set the table for a legit signing beautifully. Mitchell's draw, especially, looks to do nothing but appreciate over the next few vital years.

I bet the Jazz have their eye on Klay Thompson for 2019. Our roster could be very attractive by then.

 

[candrew]

If there is any truth to this its because Utah desparately needs a starting stretch 4 to run the type of offense they want to and Mirotic is aware of that.

I wouldn't read into it as anything other than that.

 

[franklin]

It appears that the organizational cultural shift required to make the Jazz a desirable franchise to play for, despite all of the social stigmas associated with Utah (including the dominant religious hegemony located in Salt Lake City), has been achieved.

Dennis Lindsey's hire led to the hiring of Quinn Snyder, and DL's five-plus years of scouting, drafting, and trades have yielded two building block players in Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell.

This core could not be more perfect in it's symbolic significance to a league that is now essentially balanced with both foreign and domestic stars. The development of Gobert from a D-league prospect to a top-20 All-NBA Second Team and All-NBA Defensive First Team player is a sign to all foreign players that the Jazz are willing to both develop and build around non-US talent. Gobert's length, defensive gravity, and his insistence on team defensive accountability, instantly transforms the Jazz into a top-5 defensive squad.

Commensurate to Gobert is the astounding rise of American-born Mitchell as a talented, unselfish rookie with star potential. The trade that brought him to Utah has bolstered the Jazz' cultural identity in a way that the franchise has never enjoyed. Before his rookie season is even completed, Mitchell already projects to be both a legitimate go-to scorer and play maker. But he is also a bright, positive, popular personality who has already endeared himself to the league's star fraternity.

The positive PR of Mitchell's cultural belonging among the NBA's elite cannot be overstated. With a single draft night trade, Dennis Lindsay has (perhaps unknowingly) transformed the franchise into a possible destination spot for anyone who wants to play with Mitchell, which may be a group of players that is already in the hundreds. Mitchell has dropped jaws across the continent, and he projects to be a star. His talent & personality represent incredible cultural capital in the world of professional basketball.

This brings us to Nikola Mirotic, who not only projects to compliment our core, but has expressed an interest in the Jazz because of the presence of Quinn Snyder. The number of times that a player has i) demanded a trade, and ii) shown interest in the Jazz as a destination could likely be counted on one hand. Mirotic's positive attitude toward the Jazz represents a step towards relevance in the NBA landscape that does not rely wholly upon available money and roster space. What is even more amazing about this is that weather we obtain Mirotic or not is irrelevant, as the fact that the NBA media knows that he wants to play for the Jazz is the true cultural signifier here.

The next step in this process will be the expression of public interest (and eventual signing) of a high profile American free agent player who would otherwise seek to team up with a contender in one of the larger NBA markets.

I welcome commentary on this assessment.

Excellent write-up. Agree or not, this is beat writer quality. Well done.